New Children in Need Special!

The annual Pudsey-fest is almost upon us, and on November the 18th Doctor Who will continue it’s long association with BBC-sponsored charities with a specially recorded scene writeen by Russell T Davies and starring David Tennant and Billie Piper. According to the BBC’s Official Doctor Who site, the details of the scene are a closely guarded secret…

In previous years, Doctor Who has been used for both Children in Need and Comic Relief. In 1983, the Doctor Who twenty-fifth anniversary special The Five Doctors was aired during that years telethon; 10 years later – and four years after the show’s cancellation – previous Doctors Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Pater Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy fought battles across several time zones of “EastEnders'” Albert Square (yes, really!) against various classic monsters. The Doctors were even reunited wth various assistants, including Leela and K9 as they fought to rescue the crudely made and rendered 3D heads (yes, really really!) of their first 2 selves from a black hole (don’t ask).

Although popular at the time, and filmed using a 3D technique which didn’t require special glasses to watch, the “story” – or “loosely connected scenes” – was unfortunately misjudged and seemed to be the final nail in the coffin of (the previous producer) John-Nathan Turner’s reputation until his influence on the show was reassessed following his death.

In 1999, The Curse of the Fatal Death starred Rowan Atkinson and Julia Sawalha as a Ninth Doctor and his companion Emma, who planned to marry. This Comic Relief “skit” was made available on video and was well-received by a large proportion of fans; it was written by Steven Moffat, who would later write the Series 1 two-parter The Empty Child. Also starring were Richard E. Grant, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent and Joanna Lumley, and a very well cast Jonathan Pryce as the Master.

Finally, any Doctor Who fans in Cardiff will no doubt be delighted to learn that the Tenth Doctor Who and his companion Rose Tyler will be switching on their Christmas lights! According to the BBC’s Official site:

17 November sees the Welsh capital’s own Christmas Invasion as Billie Piper and David Tennant arrive to turn on the festive lights.

Seasonal celebrations begin at 5.45, with the Red Hot Santas taking to the stage to play some Christmas favourites. The big switch on by the Doctor and Rose happens at 6.45